A three-step process to ensure employees buy into your presentation

Laozi, the ancient Chinese philosopher, once said: ‟A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say ‘we did it ourselves’.”

As a business leader, you know how true this is. Your most successful work is when the people you lead buy into your vision. Shared vision is the most important tool you have.

So, how can you use presentations to create greater buy-in?

Well, by harnessing a tried-and-true strategy and following a few simple tricks of the trade!

Personalise your passion

The best leaders are easily identified by their passion — and their ability to get others equally excited. Presentations are an unmissable opportunity to do just that. By clearly communicating your passion and connecting personally to your audience, you encourage buy-in.

Tell the story

Humans are intrinsically attracted to stories. As a leader, it is your job to tell the story of your business through your presentations. All great stories have a beginning, a middle and an end — with troughs and climaxes that keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Each presentation should be structured to showcase these elements of your narrative.

Help your team see their role as characters within that story and engage their imagination as you point them in the right direction.

A good storyteller inspires buy-in.

Memorable messages

A big part of buy-in is understanding. If your team understands the business, their goals and the issues at hand, they will naturally be more invested.

Presentations have the power to be memorable messages. Through carefully crafted scripting and engaging graphics, a presentation can be the key to creating lasting buy-in. The better your audience remembers your content, the more likely they are to take action.

And remember, when creating your presentation, be sure to keep this question in mind: ‘Why should my audience care about my subject?’

Presentations which are passionately personal, narrative-driven and memorable are your greatest tool for creating buy-in. The future of your business rests on your ability to inspire a shared vision for your team.

Emma is the founder and chief executive officer of Presentation Studio, APAC’s largest presentation communication agency, and author of the book Visual Thinking: How to transform the way you think, communicate and influence with presentations.

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